Liberal Democrat Mike Thornton has won the by-election for the Eastleigh constituency, which neighbours the Western Wards and includes Hamble and Bursledon.
But the shock of the night saw Maria Hutchings for the Conservatives beaten into third place behind the UK Independence Party’s Diane James.
Mr Thornton won the seat by 1,771 votes and said there was “no greater honour” than to represent the constituency, and pledged to be a “strong voice for every person” in it.
Conservative Maria Hutchings won 10,559 votes which was 14 per cent down on the share of the vote when she lost at the 2010 general election to Chris Huhne.
UKIP’s Diane James beat the Conservatives into third place by 1,012 votes.
Mr Thornton has been a parish and borough councillor since 2007 and has lived in the local area for 19 years. Speaking to the BBC he said they had won because of their “superb record of delivery”.
“The people of Eastleigh recognise that the Liberal Democrats have always had a superb record of delivery, we’ve always listened to what people want, and we always make sure that we do a good job,” he said.